basketball
Ulm before the BBL title – several records possible
Ulm’s Bruno Caboclo (l) and Bonn’s Tyson Ward fight for the ball. Photo
© Stefan Puchner/dpa
One more win to the trophy. Ratiopharm Ulm can crown a furious run in the playoffs – it would be one of the biggest sensations in German basketball history.
FC Bayern Munich, Brose Bamberg and Alba Berlin – this financially strong trio has dominated the Bundesliga for the past 13 years.
The fact that all three clubs failed together before the final in 2023 was already a big surprise – but a sensational title win by outsider ratiopharm Ulm would also ensure a few more league records. Ulm would be the first club seeded in seventh place to win the championship in the playoffs.
“Have to stay focused to the end”
It would also accomplish the feat of a team defeating first, second and third seeded teams en route to the trophy for the first time. This time, in addition to Alba (3:1) and Bayern (3:0), there was also final opponent Telekom Baskets Bonn, who trailed 1:2 in best-of-five mode in the final. In this case, Ulm would not only have defeated the top three seeded teams, but also champions, cup winners and champions league winners one after the other.
“Bonn are a team that can always come back. We know that we’ve already given up big leads. We have to stay focused until the end,” Ulm coach Anton Gavel warned before the fourth game.
After the gala in game four, Karim Jallow prepared his teammates for what may be the last test. “Bonn will throw everything they have on the floor on Friday,” said Jallow. This series of finals is guaranteed to be a premiere: neither Ulm nor Bonn, who won the main round, have ever won the championship.